Protecting the Enemy (7 page)

“I doubt it. He has to know that we’ll come after him.”

They both jumped off the small structure onto the grass behind. The back of the house had a large wooden deck with gazebo attached. A flag pole stood tall and proud waving red, white and blue in the middle of the trimmed lawn. Clumps of red mums circled the base of the pole. Julianna followed close behind Reid. She didn’t mind letting him take the lead if this really was Boss’ residence.

When they reached the house, the ruffled curtains were open giving them a view of the inside. The polished oak floors gleamed in the sunlight. The homes décor was
Americana. A plaid blue sofa with a red and white quilt folded over the back faced the window they were looking through. In front of the sofa was a coffee table holding an oval candy dish. The place hardly fit the place Julianna had envisioned a man like Boss would live. Bat cave would have been closer to what she imagined. Something was off. The place read like a married couple lived there.

Her suspicions proved correct when a short woman walked into the room and took a seat in the rocking chair next to the fireplace. The woman appeared to be in her late fifties, about the age she’d guessed Boss could be. Her white hair was cut into a short bob and she wore a wool sweater paired with unflattering blue pants. The woman took a thick book from the edge of the fireplace stoop and began reading. Julianna couldn’t make out the title. From the looks of the prude, it wasn’t a romance.

Reid sighed and looked and Julianna. “This complicates things.”

She nodded. “What are we going to do?”

They pressed themselves against the brick facade. “We still have to get inside.”

Julianna nodded. They were about to break another rule. Never go after your mark if a civilian could get hurt in the process. But what choice did they have? Their lives were on the line. Anyway the rules went out the window the moment Boss sent them to erase each other.

Reid motioned her around to the side of the house. She sighed,
hoping the woman’s book was so good she wouldn’t hear them breaking in. It was no surprise that all the windows were locked and armed with an alarm. If it was Boss’ alarm it would be impenetrable.

Time for plan B.

Julianna held up her hand, before Reid broke the glass. “I’ll provide a distraction, you get inside. I’ll ring the doorbell and make up something.”

“No. That’s too dangerous, what if Boss is inside?”

“I can manage just as well as you can.”

He pressed his lips together. “I don’t like it.”

“We don’t have a choice. If you break a window, she’ll hear. Then we have to deal with her, something I’m not comfortable with.”

For a second he said nothing, then before she knew what was happening his lips were over hers. Almost visible sparks flew between their bodies. There was that feeling of home again, of belonging.

He pulled away. “Be careful.”

She brought her fingers to her lips and nodded, unable to speak. Reid disappeared around the side of the house, bringing her back to reality. She ran her fingers though her hair as she walked to the front of the house and onto the porch. Without knowing what she was going to say, she rang the doorbell. A few seconds later the curtain moved over a crack.

“Yes?” the woman asked through the door.

“Hi, have you seen a dog? Poochie got away from me and I thought I saw him in your yard.” Julianna pretended to look around.

The woman opened the door. “I’ve been inside. I haven’t seen any dog.” She looked down on Julianna as if she were a homeless person. Julianna remembered what she must look like, no makeup, dressed in second-hand clothing.

She did the one thing that might make the woman trust her or at least feel sorry for her. As if her life depended on it, Julianna started sobbing. “He’s all I have left.”

A flash of annoyance lit up the woman’s eyes, before her face softened. “I’m sure you’ll find him.”

Julianna sat down the porch and wrapped her arms around her middle, crying hysterically.

The woman looked around as if she were afraid one of the neighbors may see the spectacle. “Come inside to calm down.” She tilted her head and studied Julianna’s face. “I’ll get you something hot to drink.”

Julianna didn’t ease her crying, but she nodded and followed the woman inside.

The house looked inviting from the outside, but the moment she stepped inside, she got a bad vibe she couldn’t put her finger on. She followed the lady back to the modern kitchen decorated in the same motif… red, white and blue.

“Calm down, I’ll just put on some tea.” The woman turned her back to her and reached into the oak cabinet.

“Thank you.”

“Do you live in the area? I don’t remember seeing you before.”

“No, I was visiting an old friend,” Julianna answered between fake sobs. The tea kettle whistled. As the woman was pouring their drinks into mugs, Julianna’s gut told her it was time to go.

***

Julianna had the poor woman so worked up she hadn’t even locked the door behind them which allowed Reid to enter through the front door. Jewels had given an award-winning performance. He could still hear her faux crying in the kitchen.

He rushed through the hallway with his gun cocked. The rooms were empty. His heart thumped harder inside his chest when he found a stairway that led to a basement. An office. The large area was just a nice as the rest of the house with high ceilings and recessed lighting. After he was sure the room was clear, he went to the desk and started yanking on drawers. Pens, pencils, notepads, paperclips—things one would expect to find in a typical office. The only thing that seemed odd was the travel-sized, rose scented hand lotion. Could be the wife’s or that the man just liked soft hands. Somehow he didn’t think Boss’ hands were smooth or smelled of flowers. He looked around for a file cabinet and saw none.

Frustrated, he walked back over to the oak desk. There was a framed picture on top next to the computer. A man standing next to the woman upstairs. He looked familiar, but no way was he Boss. His eyes were a deep blue and Boss’ were hazel, also this man was thinner. The man’s image nagged at him. He’d seen his face before, but couldn’t place when or where.

Reid sat down in the comfortable, brown leather chair. He opened the drawer again and ran his fingers underneath the wood, then along the back. Something was taped to the backside of the drawer. He removed the folded paper and opened it to reveal nothing more than phone number written in black ink. Excited, he jotted the number down. Then carefully replaced the paper exactly as he’d found it.

Reid’s instinct told him to pick up the phone and dial the number, so he did. After two rings, Boss picked up. He’d recognize that rough voice anywhere. Without hesitation, Reid disconnected.
Got you, you son of a bitch.
He removed the cloth from his pocket. After he wiped away his prints from anything he’d touched, Reid made his way back upstairs.

Too late. Julianna was already thanking the woman for her kindness. Before the woman could turn around, Reid headed toward the back door and made his quick exit.

Julianna was waiting for him in the car. “It’s about time you joined me.”

“Sorry, some of us didn’t get to waltz out of the front door. I had to climb over the fence.”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and grinned. “I was only joking. Did you find any black masks lying around?”

“This isn’t Boss’ place if that’s what you are asking.”

“I didn’t think so. What did you find?”

Reid smirked and put the sedan in drive. He glanced at her. “We have Boss’ personal phone number.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And what are we supposed to do with that? Call him and ask for a meeting, so he can finish what he started?”

“No, but we are going to get his location.” He couldn’t wait to confront the SOB. He’d taken so much from him. It was payback time.

“How?”

He shrugged. “Weasel can track him for us.”

Julianna frowned. “Isn’t his debt paid now? He may refuse to help you.”

“Yes, but if I come bearing gifts, I’m sure he wouldn’t turn me away.” He put his arm around her. “Especially, if I show up with a hot chick.”

***

Julianna stood behind Reid as Weasel opened the basement apartment door wearing dark jeans and a black ctrl+alt+delete T-shirt. His shaggy hair didn’t look any more combed than that last time. Then again, hers probably didn’t either. She really needed to get her hands on a brush.

Reid held up the extra large meat lovers’ pizza a cold six pack of Mountain Dew. “Hungry?”

Weasel looked from the pizza box to Julianna and grinned like he’d just won the Maryland Lotto. “Always.” He stepped aside and motioned them in. The laundry pile was smaller this time, but empty food containers still littered the room. The kid took his arm and swiped away the trash and then pulled out a chair for Julianna. “I didn’t expect to ever see you two again.”

Reid opened the box and helped himself to a slice. “We need your help. Eat, then we’ll talk.”

The kid grabbed a piece of pizza and nodded. From the look on his face, one would think the kid didn’t have any friends. But she didn’t either. She had more in common with this computer geek than she would have guessed.

Julianna picked up her dinner and took a cautious bite. There was enough processed meat and greasy cheese on one slice to give someone a heart attack, but darn if it didn’t taste good. She leaned back in her chair and took in her surroundings. The colorful posters of make believe heroes did brighten the otherwise glum walls. Her eyes darted to the floor. Something was different that last time she’d been here. “I see you cleaned up.” She motioned to the small mound of laundry.

Weasel swallowed and nodded. “My mom.” He grinned and took another huge bite.

Julianna started to open her mouth to speak, but Reid gave her a warning look. They were here asking for help. She had to be nice. The kid was kind of growing on her anyway. He was harmless really, at least physically. She was a little frightened of the damage he could do with his mind.

After they’d finished devouring their dinner, Julianna watched and waited. They were so close to answers that she could feel it. But did she really want the truth? Something in the pit of her gut told her to just run far away and start over. It wasn’t as if she had anything to lose. She glanced at Reid, his gaze intense on Weasel. His eyes met hers and he winked. Again with the weak knees. Maybe she did have something to lose. Being that man’s fiancée wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Chapter 6

R
eid bit back the disappointment and anger. He had to stay strong for Jewels. Weasel had found Boss’ residence, but when they showed up, he wasn’t there. The place was deserted, emptied from top to bottom, corner to corner. And newly so, the scuff marks on the floors were fresh. Even the bedroom carpet still sported dents from where furniture once set. To be expected, Boss was taking precautions. He couldn’t know for certain they were looking for him, but the man was smart enough to prepare just in case.

Julianna sat on the hardwood floor of the empty living room with her legs crossed, seaming as defeated as he felt.

She looked over at him. “Maybe we should just run. Start over.”

He was losing her. He couldn’t, not again. Maybe they could draw Boss out of hiding somehow. It’d be risky, but anything to do with ETE 7 always was. “We both know that there is no starting over, until ETE 7 is obsolete. Do you really want to be looking over your shoulder in five years from now? Even ten or twenty? Boss took away our future the moment he put hits out on us. And I don’t know about you, but I want my future back.”

She looked at him blankly for a few moments. “Don’t you get it? ETE 7 was my future. My family. I
have
nothing left.”

Reid walked over and sat down beside her. “That’s not true. You have me.”

She looked into his eyes as if searching for something. “I don’t remember us. Sure I get glimpses, but that’s it. As much as I’d like to believe you and just pick up where we left off, you’re still a stranger to me.” Her words came out sharp, like a knife in his heart.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and stood up. He held out his hand to her. “Then I guess that means we need to get to know each other again. Because being nothing to you isn’t acceptable to me.”

She pressed her lips together and reached upward for his hand. The gesture meaning more to him than she would ever realize. She’d just given him the motivation he needed to keep going, until they made it through this complicated hell that Boss had inserted them in.

He mentally went over what they did know so far, which wasn’t much. “Something has been nagging at me. The house we got Boss’ number from. How does that man fit into the picture? You think he could be part of ETE 7?”

She shook her head. “No, the wife, the house, it doesn’t match up. But he’s involved, somehow. Maybe Boss erased someone for him.”

The unidentified man was their only link to Boss. “I saw his picture on the desk. I know I’ve seen him someplace before. Come on, I have an idea.”